It’s 28th August – time to start your business

What’s so special about August 28th? Simply, it’s the most popular day to start a business according to a new study by O2 Business.

We’ve delved through masses of data from Companies House and discovered some fascinating facts about start-ups. If you’re thinking about starting a new business, now’s the time.

4,794 new businesses were created on 28th August 2014, more than any other day that year.

That figure is 185% more than the previous year, when the highest recorded figure in one day (2nd April) was 1,679.

Looking back over several years we found an average 11% year-on-year increase in the number of UK start-ups since 2009, compared to 3% in the years before.

What does this mean for UK entrepreneurs?

Well it’s all very positive stuff. 2014 was a record year for entrepreneurialism with over half a million businesses being created, a leap of 54,600 from 2013.

Ben Dowd, O2 Business Director commented: “It’s encouraging to see whilst the number of new start-ups is returning to pre-recession levels, the UK has a very much thriving entrepreneur scene, with a record number of businesses starting in 2014”.

Another study, also carried out by O2 Business, shows that the UK has clearly been bitten by the business bug. 46% of Brits still want to build their own company rather than want to work for someone else.

Help is at hand

However, there is still some trepidation.

41% of budding entrepreneurs don’t feel they have sufficient funds to cover the start-up costs.

35% don’t know where to start when creating a business.

Despite the growth of the technology industry in the UK, 61% of Brits aren’t confident that their grasp of modern business technology is solid enough to start a business.

Fear is inevitable but there are plenty of places to get sound advice and inspiration. For example Startups.co.uk is the UK’s leading independent, online resource for anyone starting and growing a business while www.greatbusiness.gov.uk is the Government website and helpline offering support, advice and inspiration for growing your business.

How O2 Business can help

If you’re an entrepreneur on the brink of a brilliant business, you may want to check out the range of products for growing businesses and start-ups offered by O2 Business including the first flexible tariff – Business Essentials, conference-calling app O2 Just Call Me and Microsoft Office 365, as well as the latest mobile devices and tablets. All O2 Business products come with support from the O2 Gurus team, who are on-hand to offer you advice through their start-up process.

“At O2 Business, we believe that technology shouldn’t be holding your business back”, says Ben Dowd. “We want to help more small businesses to grow and thrive in an increasingly digital Britain, and we believe a key step is taking the hassle out of technology. We see first-hand how the right technology can allow any company to run smarter, faster and more efficiently, ultimately helping that business grow.”

For free, impartial business tech help and advice, why not book a session with an O2 Guru? They’re available online, in store and over the phone.